Publicity

Chapter 2: Lunch Date

"They want you to fake date Rayan Lopez?" Bahja asked with her eyebrows raised.

We sat on her bed in her girly room. It was decorated in pink, black and white. Her bedroom looked like it came out of a furniture store catalog. I simply nodded in response to her question. All of a sudden she began laughing hysterically.

"You and Rayan Lopez" she paused to catch her breath. "As a couple? That's great."

My eyes turned to slits and I was glaring at her. "This isn't funny. There is no way in hell I'm doing it."

"Its hilarious!" Bahja said, laughing so hard I thought she might start crying. I waited for her to calm down. It was irritating how amusing she found this situation.

"Are you done?" I asked my voice dripping with annoyance. She nodded, biting her lip to keep from laughing more. "You know, you and Ray would make a cute couple."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." Just then Ray's Proactiv commercial came on. The one he just came out with a couple weeks ago. "Ugh, he is such a liar." I scoffed. "That kid has perfect skin".

Bahja laughed, standing up from the bed. Her long brown legs were toned just like the rest of her body. Bahja was an extremely athletic girl. She played basketball, volleyball, ran track and did cheerleading. Not to mention she was one of the prettiest girls I ever seen. She had long pink weave and dark brown eyes, and she was pretty tall. I used to have blue weave but now it's blonde. I wanna go back to blue though. "But, I'm being serious." She started again, concentrating on the commercial. "You guys would actually be so adorable. I think you should do it."

"You gotta be kidding." I stared at her a little wide eyed. Was she really encouraging me to be a part of a publicity stunt?

"He's hot Nique. You get to make out with him, no strings attached. I'd do it." She said seriously.

I rolled my eyes. "I doubt we have to make out. It's all for the cameras."

Bahja shrugged. "Oh, who cares. I mean, I heard Rayan is a huge romancer. He'd have to shower you with gifts and over the top dates to keep his image up as a ladies man."

"I don't want the whole world in my personal life." I frowned.

"It's not real." She replied swiftly.

"Do you really think I should do this?" I asked curiously.

"Yes!" She grinned.

"Why?" I asked slightly amused.

"Because it would be pretty fucking awesome to say my best friend is dating THE Rayan Lopez." She laughed.

"Fake dating." I corrected her.

"No one will know that." She said simply.

I thought about it for a while... About all the effects this might have. About who I would want to tell that it's fake... About who I would lie to and say it's real. Is it really worth it? Finally, I pulled out my phone and dialed Claire's number.

"Hello?" She answered almost instantly.

"I'll do it." I stated looking at Bahja who was trying not to burst from excitement. I had no idea what I just agreed to...

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Ray and I had both laid down some rules about this stunt. We both didn't want many people to know about it. The only people that I wanted to know the relationship was fake were my mom, my manager, my bodyguard and Bahja.Ray only wanted his mom, his daily crew, and his three best friends Chres, Craig and Jacob to know the truth. To everyone else, this relationship would be 100% real. I had my reasons for only telling a certain amount of people about the stunt. I mean, how do you explain this type of thing to your grandparents? I was extremely close to them because during my parents divorce I spent a lot of time at their house. My grandpa always told me not to let this celebrity lifestyle change me. He would be so disappointed if I told him I had agreed to a publicity stunt just to help my career. He would be disgusted...